Recycling Committee - What Can Be Recycled

Actually, it might be easier to say what you cannot recycle :-). Leicester's Recycling Center accepts more items than any other recycling center in Massachusetts.  (You may also check here for an alphabetical list of items that we recycle.)

We recycle:

• Metal
• Glass
• Paper
• Clothing, Rags, and Shoes
• Plastic
• Compost
• Computers, Disks, Televisions and most electronic equipment
• Equipment to Assist Those with Handicaps
• Eyeglasses and Cases
• Hearing Aids
• Clean, unbroken household items
• Automotive Tires

We even take many hazardous wastes.

Metal

We recycle:

• Cans
• Aluminum
• Large metal items like refrigerators and stoves (Nominal fee applies.  See Fee Schedule for details.)
• Propane tanks (Nominal fee applies.  See Fee Schedule for details.)

Special notes:

• We make money from aluminum, so please be sure to separate it from other metal.
• Please strip as much plastic as you can from from metal before dropping it off at the recycling center
• We remove the freon from recycled refrigerators as required by the state Department of Environmental Protection (and it's good for the environment, too :-)
• We welcome 5 cent returnable cans

Glass

We recycle:

• Food and beverage containers at our glass recycling area
• Light bulbs at the plastic recycling area

We cannot recycle:

• Plate glass (i.e., flat glass)
• Drinking glasses, dishes, or ceramics

Special notes:

• You do not have to remove labels
• Metal is a contaminant to glass, so please remove lids and neck rings containing metal
• We break even on the costs vs proceeds from our glass operation
• We welcome 5 cent returnable bottles

Paper

We recycle:

• All mixed paper
  • Paper bags
  • Newspapers
  • Magazines
  • Junk mail
  • Catalogs
  • Phone books
  • Greeting cards
  • Egg cartons (paper, not foam)
  • etc
• Corrugated cardboard and chipped board (e.g., cereal boxes, pasta boxes, etc)
• Hard- and soft-covered books

Special notes:

• A limited number of staples is fine, but please remove paper clips
• Books are recycled through neighborhood and community centers, and through library book sales throughout the county
• We pay to recycle paper
• Books, magazines, and clothing patterns are sent to third-world countries, in cooperation with the Hands Across the Water Project.

Clothing, Rags, and Shoes

We recycle:

• Old clothing
• Rags
• Shoes in pairs

Special notes:

• Shoes are send to third world countries where they are re-soled and reused
• Clothes and rags left in our own textile truck are:
  • Used for responding to Urgent Need (U-Need) hotline calls
  • Used  for responding to requests from more than 15 area shelters when they have urgent needs
• Leicester is a regional drop off for clothing

Plastic

We recycle:

• Unbroken plastic flower pots and plant trays
• Plastic #1 and #2 where the neck of the plastic container is smaller than the base.  Thus, we are able to accept plastic bottles such as those for juice, milk, and laundry detergent. 

We cannot recycle

• Plastic containers whose neck is larger than the base.  Thus, we cannot accept bottles such as cottage cheese and yogurt even if they are #1 or #2.
• Plastic seed trays or pots

Special notes:

• We are pleased to be able to sell, for $20 each, yard composters which are made from our recycled laundry detergent bottles.  A special grant allows us to offer these at this reduced cost.  These have sold out every year.  We have donated one to each Leicester school and to Capen Hill Nature Sanctuary in Charlton.
• We pay to recycle plastic

Compost

We recycle:

• Brush
• Leaves
• Yard waste

We cannot recycle:

• Lumber scraps

Special notes:

• We are pleased to be able to sell, for $20 each, yard composters which are made from our recycled laundry detergent bottles.  A special grant allows us to offer these at this reduced cost.  These have sold out every year.  We have donated one to each Leicester school and to Capen Hill Nature Sanctuary in Charlton.

Computers, Disks, and Televisions

We recycle:

• Computers (Nominal fee applies.  See Fee Schedule for details.)
• Computer floppy disks
• Televisions (Nominal fee applies.  See Fee Schedule for details.)
• Scanners, record players, telephones, and most other electronic equipment
• VCR, DVD and casette tapes

Special notes:

• It does not matter whether computers or televisions work

Equipment to Assist Those with Handicaps

We recycle:

• HP equipment, including walkers, wheel chairs, metal crutches, tub seats, etc

Special notes:

• These items are recycled through Massachusetts Easter Seals inCentral Massachusetts' handicapped equipment loan program
• Leicester is a regional drop off for this equipment

Eyeglasses and Cases

We recycle:

• Eye glasses
• Eye glass cases

Special notes:

• These are recycled through the Lions Club International and are eventually received in third world countries after identification and repair
• Leicester is a regional drop off for eyeglasses

Hearing Aids

We recycle:

• Hearing aids

Special notes:

• These are recycled through the Rotary Club International to third world countries
• Leicester is a regional drop off for hearing aids

Clean, unbroken household items

We recycle:

• Clean and unbroken household items which you may no longer need, but which may be of value to others

We cannot recycle:

• Infant car seats
• Infant strollers or carriages
• Infant high chairs

Special notes:

• Remember that we have to pay for trash removal, so please be sure that anything that you leave must be usable.

Automotive Tires

We recycle:

• Automobile, motorcycle, and truck tires (Nominal fee applies.   See Fee Schedule for details.)

Special notes:

• We break even on cost versus income from our tire recycling operation

Hazardous Wastes

We recycle a variety of hazardous items, including:

• Batteries
  • Nickel Cadmium (like those found in power tools)
  • Button batteries (like those found in watches, cameras, and hearing aids)
  • Automotive batteries
  • Household batteries (A, AA, AAA, C, D, etc)
• Waste Oil (at Highway Garage on Peter Salem Road during normal business hours.)
• Paint and paint products (June through October)
• Herbicides, pesticides, photographic chemicals, and other similar hazardous materials are accepted once a year at the Full Hazardous Waste Day.  Information is available in August for when this day will be (usually some time in October or November). 

Special notes:

• Nominal fees may apply.  See Fee Schedule for details.
• Orders for recycled paint are accepted in writing to P.O. Box 479, Leicester MA 01524.   Paint is recycled in 5 and 1 gallon containers and is screened properly for reuse.
• If you cannot drop off waste oil during normal business hours, please call 508-892-3121 to discuss the possibility of other arrangements
• The Leicester Recycling Center has received a grant from the Pesticide Bureau of the Federal Department of Food and Agriculture, designating the center as an official Massachusetts drop-off site for clean herbicide and pesticide containers.
• If you have difficulty disassembling rechargeable power tools to remove the batteries, please leave them with us and we'll take them apart for you.